


Baby Steps

by exbex



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-04-27 20:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5063599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exbex/pseuds/exbex





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Vic32](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vic32/pseuds/Vic32) in the [DS_C6D_Prompt_Meme](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/DS_C6D_Prompt_Meme) collection. 



It would be a misnomer, perhaps, to label the fact that Ray managed to capture Isaac’s first steps on video, considering the fact that Ray has had the camera trained on Isaac constantly since he became old enough to crawl.  
I have watched the footage countless times, and it hasn’t lost any of the joy. I must admit though, that I was equally enthralled with Ray’s enthusiasm on that day. His happiness is almost more captivating now that the hints of silver in his hair serve as a reminder, however aesthetically pleasing, of how much I need to cherish the time we have together.

**

Ray showed the footage to anyone who would take the time to watch, and our friends were more than obliging. Even when Ray became insistent about showing the footage three, four, and five times, they were happy to indulge. Although indulge may be another misnomer, as we have all grown older and are perhaps more willing to slow down. Ray Vecchio and Ray Kowalski engaged in friendly competition over whether Isaac or Ray’s son Michael was advancing more quickly in the stages of development. Their competition was teasing rather than serious, and it allowed Ray’s wife, Lydia, and I to share knowing smiles over our husbands’ antics.

**

When Stella came to visit, I was most surprised by her reaction to the video. She and Ray had become better friends over the years, and her presence in our home provided a warmth that I’d come to expect from her, but I was intrigued by her reaction to Ray’s enthusiasm. I thought she’d tease him good-naturedly at first, then let it fade to politeness as he regaled her with the footage multiple times. But she was happy to watch it many times, often while holding Isaac in her arms (briefly; although Isaac was not our biological son, he shared a frenetic energy with Ray). I studied the look on her face as she watched, first mistaking her expression for wistfulness, then coming to realize that it was a look of pure contentment, the kind of look you would see on someone who was assured of his or her place in the world.  
She noticed me watching, finally, and we didn’t have to speak to communicate what we were both thinking. Somehow, we had made just enough of the right decisions in life to be some of the luckiest people in the world.


End file.
